The invention disclosed and discussed herein deals with multiple component activatable mechanisms and toy animals containing such mechanisms. The mechanism that is contained in the animal works mechanically through a series of linkages that control the animal""s head and lower jaw to create a forward lunge of the head and an audible noise from the snapping of the jaws.
The inventors herein are not aware of any mechanical animal that operates in a manner the same as or similar to that disclosed herein.
One embodiment of the invention disclosed and discussed herein deals with multiple component activatable mechanisms capable of extension of the animal head, and a consequent snap motion which comprises in interconnected combination a spring retained drive bar, a pin and slot second class fulcrum, a spring retained activator bar and, a trigger bar.
A second embodiment of the invention is a toy animal containing the activatable mechanism described just above, wherein the toy animal comprises in combination a head portion comprising an upperjaw and a moveable lower jaw. There is a cowling movably joined to the head portion to form a neck portion.
There is a body having essentially two matching halves each having a central portion and a back end portion with a tail portion unitarily joined therewith. The tail portion is a continuation of the body.
Throughout the head, cowling, and body are support stanchions to support the activatable mechanisms and fasteners which are used to connect the two matching halves together to form the body, connect the body to the cowling, to connect the cowling to the head portion, and connect the moveable lower jaw to the head portion such that the cowling, head, and moveable lower jaw are capable of limited movement.
With more specificity, in the latter embodiment, the toy animal comprises in combination a head having a back, wherein the head contains a moveable lower jaw having a top and a bottom.
There is a neck formed from a moveable cowling and a body comprised of two, essentially matching halves, forming a central portion with a bottom and tail portion.
There is contained in the activatable toy animal a multiple component, activatable mechanism which comprises in an interconnected combination a spring retained drive bar, a pin and slot second class fulcrum, a spring retained activator bar and, a trigger bar, wherein the drive bar has a distal end, a near end, and a central portion wherein the distal end of the drive bar is anchored near the bottom of the moveable lower jaw and the near end is free-moving and terminates in the near end in an upwardly pointing hook. The drive bar has a retainer spring with a near end and a distal end wherein the near end is attached in an opening in the central portion of the drive bar and the distal end is attached near the top of the moveable lower jaw.
The pin and slot second class fulcrum has a near end and a distal end, the near end is anchored to the back of the head such that the pin and slot second class fulcrum has a partial rotational movement capability.
The spring retained activator bar has a near end, a distal end and a center portion, the spring retained activator bar near end being link-hinged to the distal end of the pin and slot second class fulcrum. The spring retained activator bar is attached at the center portion to a second retainer spring by one end and the opposite end of the second retainer spring is anchored to the bottom of the central portion of the body.
The trigger bar has a near end and a distal end. The trigger bar is link-hinged at its near end to the distal end of the spring retained activator bar. The distal end of the trigger bar protrudes from the bottom of the central portion of the body. The tail portion is attached unitarily to the back of the central portion and is essentially a continuation of the central portion of the body. The activatable mechanism being supported by support stanchions within the activatable toy animal configuration.
The lower jaw, fulcrum, cowling and body halves are fastened together by a fastening means such as pins and posts.